


Abomination

by kimuii



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Bigotry & Prejudice, Black Hermione Granger, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dolores Umbridge Being an Asshole, Drama, F/M, Friendship, Ghouls, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Indian Harry Potter, Original Character(s), POV Original Character, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Possible Romance, Prophecy, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Slytherins Being Slytherins, Training, Wizarding Wars (Harry Potter), Wizarding World (Harry Potter), harry has a thing for asians
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:22:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27185135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimuii/pseuds/kimuii
Summary: Sukaretto Mosukuwa finds out she is not only a ghoul but a witch the year she turned 17. She goes to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during Harry Potter's fifth year. A war is blooming on the horizon and people refuse to believe it. Will Sukaretto end up involving herself, or will she stick to her plan of going back home?
Relationships: Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

What Sukaretto is based on: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/855261785479546192/

In Scotland's highlands, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry sat behind his large wooden desk. Sounds of Albus Dumbledore's many contraptions and his Pheonix, Fawkes, crooning on his metal stand were filling the background, as he looked at the young girl that sat in one of the leather chairs across from him. Severus Snape, Hogwarts potions professor, stood beside her chair stiffly.

Sukaretto Mosukuwa brushed a strand of black hair behind her multiple pierced ear before running a tanned hand through the locks. Her brown eyes blinked at the headmaster, a smile gracing her lips, clearly pleased at how the previous discussion had gone. "I appreciate you allowing me to attend your school, headmaster," she said, "despite what I am."

"It wouldn't be the first time he has let a creature into the school," butted in Severus with a sneer, "despite the risk that they may present."

Albus gave Severus a look before shifting his gaze back to Sukaretto. "I'm sure that you won't cause any trouble." He smiled and gestured to the darkly dressed man beside her. "Severus here will help you with your needs, as he will be the only one of the staff aware of your status. Unless you decide to make them aware, of course. So, should you need anything, please go see him if I, myself, am unavailable."

Sukaretto glanced at Severus out of the corner of her eye, taking in the thin frame cloaked in flowing black, the sallow skin, and his large, hooked nose. His shoulder-length black hair framed his face like curtains, his lips pressed together into a hard line, and his dark tunnel-like eyes narrowed.

Besides his snide comment at her earlier, he hadn't spoken much. He looked like he wanted to protest this entire situation, yet he couldn't for whatever reason. She could understand a bit. She doubted anyone would want to deal with some teenager, especially one that wasn't human, and like he had stated, a creature that brought risks.

She stood to her feet and bowed slightly to the headmaster with a "thank you" before turning to Severus and doing the same much to his surprise. "Thank you for dealing with me. I hope to not be any trouble to you, sir."

Severus, taken aback by the gesture, stared down at the girl for a moment before nodding. "See to it that you're not."

Sukaretto simply nodded, not taking any offense to his cold and blunt words. She figured he was just like that.

"Now then," said Albus, clapping his hands together and rising from his chair. "There is much to do in such little time! We need to get you all your school things for the coming year, along with your wand. You did surprisingly well with a wand that wasn't yours; I'm curious to see how you will be with a wand uniquely your own..."

He walked to the door of the office and turned to look at the girl and Severus. "Shall we?"

Sukaretto smiled slightly, following the headmaster with Severus not far behind. "We shall."

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sukaretto stood in the office of Severus Snape on August 31st, the night before the students would be returning to the school. She fiddled with her new wand in her hands; 14 1/2" larch wood with a dragon heartstring core Mr. Ollivander had told her. It took her a bit to get used to carrying the object around with her after she got it, but after the strangely exhilarating rush she had gotten when holding it for the first time, she couldn't picture herself parting from it. And Albus had been correct. Her magic and skill did improve when she had her own wand rather than the one that she had been lent.

She found that she was particularly good at charms and transfigurations. She assumed she would have been okay with potions if she had been skilled at cooking, as that is what the class seemed to be similar too, except for the risks of explosions. Defense Against the Dark Arts was an exciting subject; Sukaretto was only used to defending herself with her kagune and blunt strength. But she doubted Severus, who was the one teaching her as the new professor had yet to arrive, would be keen on being hit. Using a wand as a defense tool would take a bit to get used to.

Severus finally came through his office door, no longer wearing his usual cloak and instead in a black button-down and black pants. Seems like that was the only color the man ever wore. "Let's go, Miss Mosukuwa."

Sukaretto followed him out into the corridor and up out of the dungeons. The two hadn't spoken much since their last lesson a few days before. She had done her own research outside of her lessons and had come across some subjects that had piqued her interest. Namely things from the Hogwarts library's restricted section, but she kept where she had found the info to herself. The restricted area was restricted for a reason, after all.

She had asked Severus about it at the end of their lesson, hoping for further details; however, she was only snapped at by the potions professor and told to leave. Albus, after she had gone to him, had explained some things to her.

He informed her of the Dark wizard Voldemort, the war, and this boy Harry Potter. She had read recent newspapers that mentioned him, mostly bad-mouthing both him and Dumbledore, calling them insane and attention-seeking. She didn't particularly care about that; it wasn't what she was asking about anyway. She asked about the information she had come across, but Albus said they were the dark arts, dark magic, and to be wary and not to involve herself in them.

She had agreed with him behind a false smile. However, she continued her learning. After all, there was nothing wrong with reading on it, right? She was always a curious soul. It seemed that the Dark Arts were looked down upon by the majority of Wizarding Britain, though most were not illegal, besides the three Unforgivables. Sukaretto could see why some were...frowned upon, but why all dark arts in general?

It didn't make sense to her. Sukaretto shook herself from her thoughts as the pair stepped outside the school gates.

"Hold onto my arm," Severus said. She obeyed and lightly grasped the man's forearm. Suddenly, she felt as if her entire body was being pulled from all sides and through a tube, and then it was over. She stumbled, her stomach lurching as she let go of her professor's arm.

"Sorry," she mumbled, taking deep breaths to keep from throwing up. Looking up, she took in her surroundings. They were on a bridge, the only light source coming from a dully lit street lamp, and there was no one around. "Where are we?"

A soft Lumos came from Severus, and the tip of his wand brightened, providing extra light to the dark night. He started down the bridge's length near the railing, and Sukaretto jogged slightly to keep up with his long strides.

"Erskine, Scotland," he answered. "This is the Erskine Bridge. Albus informed me that you only...consume people who have already ended their lives, correct?"

She nodded, taking note of the disgust in his tone despite his neutral expression. "It is a route some ghouls take in a way to keep a low profile. It keeps us from putting ourselves in danger. Though not all ghouls are the same or have a similar 'lifestyle.'"

That was how she lived after she was able to escape Cochlea. She had been in the ghoul detention center in the 23rd ward since she was 12 years old. She didn't remember much of her life before that time, mainly because she didn't find it worth remembering. Living on the streets was difficult enough for anyone, but being a child and then being a ghoul added a lot more hardships.

"Well, there is an estimate of fifteen suicides that occur here per year. This is a good place to collect what you need."

They reached a metal stairway that led to the ground below. At the bottom, Sukaretto walked off, leaving Severus by the stairs. She lit her wand and sniffed around quietly. There was a body there, sprawled out face down in the dirt. She crouched beside it and flipped the body over, revealing the face of a young boy.

She stared down sadly at the boy, only a few years younger than herself by the looks of it. Green eyes stared upwards, dull and empty, dry blood covered one side of his head where she could see a stomach-churning wound that most likely came from the fall. Sukaretto hoped it had been quick, that he hadn't suffered the pain of bleeding out at the bottom of some bridge.

She brushed her fingers gently over his eyes, pushing his eyelids closed. "Rest easy, child, and may you find peace and happiness in the next life..."

She started pulling apart the body and packing the remains away into wrapped packages. She didn't want to waste time eating her fill then and there. There was a possibility of them being stumbled across, even at night. So she would eat when they returned to school and store the rest. This body would keep her sated for at least a month, based on the boy's size and age.

Tying the last of the strings tightly around the packages, she placed them in her bag and stood, making her way back to Severus, who hadn't moved from his spot.

"Your hands," he said, motioning for her to hold them out. She raised up her blood-covered hands.

He pointed his still lit wand at them. 'Tergeo.' And with the simple word, the blood disappeared from her palms, not even leaving stains behind. She'd have to remember that spell.

"Are you finished here, then?" He asked.

"Yes, this should last me a month, at the very least. So I won't be bothering you about it unless it's an emergency of some sort."

Severus nodded and held out his arm to the girl who took it, and together they apparated back to the school.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The night of the sorting ceremony, Sukaretto could be found sitting cross-legged on the room's bed she was temporarily residing in. Her wand was in her hand, and a charms book in her lap. She raised her wand and aimed it at the desk chair she had placed in the center of the room.

'Flipendo!' A yellow flash erupted as she flicked her wand in movements that the book stated, the knock-back jinx slamming into the chair hard enough for two of the legs to break off. The rest of the chair fell to the floor. She smiled, feeling pleased with herself. Practice does make perfect.

With a simple 'Reparo,' the chair went back to its original state, just as a knock sounded at the door.

"One moment," she called, slipping off the bed and putting away the book, and making sure any items that she may or may not have...borrowed from the restricted section of the library were stored away in her trunk. Albus had informed her that regardless of what house she would be put in, she would be having her own room in the dorms and that her things would be there was she got there.

She locked her trunk and straightened her school robes before going to open the door. It was Albus like she assumed. He was dressed in bright blue robes.

"Are you ready, my dear? The students have just gotten off the train."

Sukaretto nodded, falling into step beside the headmaster down the corridor. She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. She always preferred being a sort of background type, but she knew that there would be some type of talk amongst the other students. Hogwarts didn't get exchanged students often.

The entered the Great Hall, which was empty besides the professors attending, and a toad looking woman dressing in all pink. She raised an eyebrow, but her attention was brought to Minerva McGonagall as the older woman approached her.

"Miss Musukawa," she greeted, placing a hand on her back and leading her into a side room off to the side of the teachers' table. "You're going to be sorted after the first years, just come out when we call you out, alright?"

She nodded, and Minerva went back out into the hall, just as 2nd-year students and above began filing into the hall. Sukaretto fiddled with her robe sleeves nervously as she peeked out the door but remaining out of sight. The students had seated themselves at their house tables, and the first years were in a small crowd at the foot of the steps. Minerva stood beside a stool, holding a raggedy old hat, the sorting hat she assumed, and a long piece of parchment. Sukaretto leaned back as Minerva began going through the sorting names. She took deep breaths to calm herself, and before she knew it, Minerva had finished with the first years.

Albus stood from his seat at the teachers' table, drawing the room's attention to him. "Now before we begin our lovely meal and handle this year's announcements, we have an exchange student coming from Edogawa Japan joining us for year'sth year. Please welcome Miss Sukaretto Musukawa."

Sukaretto stepped out of the side room hesitantly, as the room had filled with quiet murmurs, and she could see the students staring at her curiously, as she expected. She walked up to where Minerva was and sat down on the stool as she was instructed, and soon her vision was blocked by the hat.

Interesting. Came a voice in her ear, causing her to jump a little. Albus had explained how the sorting hat would work, but it was still unnerving. Not every day that you hear a voice talking to you in your head.

Freaky... She thought. What she assumed to be a chuckle sounded in her head.

Ah, the realist type, powerful and ambitious. Resourceful to a T, And a curious strive for knowledge...a leader, in a way. Better be...

"SLYTHERIN."

The hat was lifted from Sukaretto's head, and to her far right, the students were clapping. She got up from the stool and walked over to the Slytherin table. Seated towards the end of the table with the other older years, she found herself across from a boy that looked around the same year as her.

The boy had short, dirty blonde hair, and he sat slouched forward slightly, his head leaned against his hand as his green eyes watched Albus at the front.

He must have felt her gaze on him because he glanced over at her and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards as he nodded at her in acknowledgment.

Albus introduced the new professors and some of the more essential school rules that Sukaretto had already heard about. He was interrupted once by a toad looking woman in an all-pink outfit. She announced herself as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. She was a ministry official, according to the students whispering around her.

Her sickly, sweet, and artificial voice had her cringing.

The feast began, food appearing on the tables and loud chatter filling the room. Sukaretto sighed and reluctantly began putting food onto her place like the rest of her housemates.

She mostly pushed the food around her plate, cutting them into small pieces and only taking a few bites to keep up appearances. She could handle one night of this.

Disgusting...

"So, Japan, huh?"

Sukaretto looked up at the boy across from her. "Yes."

"The accent definitely gives you away," he chuckled. "Did you go to one of the magical institutions there?"

"No, I actually didn't know about magic until this past year."

The boy stared at her. "You must learn fast then."

She smiled. "I guess you can say that." She placed down her fork. She was done pretending. "Your name?" She asked.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Terence. Terence Higgs. 7th year."

"Nice to meet you, Higgs."

Sukaretto fell silent as Higgs became focused on his food, and his friends pulled him into a conversation. She was pulled in a couple of times by them, and she answered the usual questions.

Soon, the feast ended, and Sukaretto walked with Higgs and his group to the Slytherin common room where one of her dorm mates showed her up. A pretty redhead named Rachel. She thanked her and immediately headed into the restroom, shutting the door behind her and placing herself on the floor in front of the toilet.

Using tap water, she relieved herself from the little but still disgusting food she had consumed. Hopefully, she would be able to avoid doing this often. She left the dorm and walked into the hall and to the railing that overlooked the common room. She saw Higgs sitting with his friends. Once he noticed her, she pointed her thumb behind her and mouthed 'tired' before going back and crawling into bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Sukaretto was woken up by Rachel the next morning.

"Hey Mosukuwa, if you want to make breakfast, you'll want to get up now. Classes start in an hour or so," she said.

Sukaretto sat up, rubbing her eyes and running her fingers through her bedhead. The dorm was already empty beside the two girls, the redhead standing by Sukaretto's bed in her school uniform. "I appreciate the thought, but I don't usually eat breakfast, Rachel. And you can call me Suka if you like."

"Okay. Suka. And you should come down anyway. You still need to get your schedule."

Suka sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'll come down." She threw her blanket to the side and got up. She went to her desk and grabbed her toiletries and towel.

"Do you want me to wait for you?" Rachel asked, shouldering her school bag.

Suka shook her head. "Nah, I don't want to keep you from eating. I'll be quick."

Her dormmate nodded and headed out of the dorm. Suka quickly showered and got ready. She really just wanted to go back to sleep, if not only for an extra 30 minutes. But she needed her schedule. Why she couldn't have gotten her schedule beforehand, she didn't know. She had been staying here before the students had even arrived, after all.

She made it to the Great Hall minutes later. The room was loud for morning chatter and pretty filled since it was close to class time for most. Rachel spotted her and waved her over, where she'd saved her a seat. She sat with her chin in her palm, tuning in and out of the conversations around her as she waited for the schedules to be handed out.

Why wait until the morning right before classes to pass out schedules? Seemed inconvenient to Suka.

"Hey."

Suka's eyes focused on the male seated across from her. It was the Higgs boy again. Had he been there the entire time?

"Oh, hi," Suka said. "Sorry if I was ignoring you."

"No, you weren't." Higgs waved his hand dismissively. "Just noticed you weren't eating. Are you doing okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she said. "I don't normally eat in the mornings. Upsets my stomach."

She smiled slightly. Not a lie, technically.

Higgs shrugged, seeming like he wasn't gonna push the subject.

Suka spotted Severus, making his rounds around the table, passing out the students' schedules. About time.

"About time," she said aloud.

"Eager to learn, are we," Rachel laughed next to her, noticing the ghoul's gaze.

"I guess you could say that. I don't get why I'm just now getting my schedule."

"Perhaps she should have been in Ravenclaw," said Higgs with a smirk, pointing his empty fork in her direction. Suka rolled her eyes at him and stuck out her tongue playfully.

"There is more to Ravenclaws than just books and knowledge. A Slytherin can have the same attributes." Rachel remarked.

"Perhaps it's the motivations that determine it, the drive."

"If ya'll say so."

"Why would you be getting your schedule early," Rachel asked.

"I was here for a while before everyone else," she explained. "I had to go through...an evaluation of sorts to see what year I'd be placed in. Since I've never gone to a magical school before. I managed to catch up to 7th year standards, thankfully."

"You never been to any institution?" Rachel asked.

"Mosukuwa didn't know about magic until maybe a year ago, Peterson," Higgs cut in. He looked tense, in a way. As if he was expecting something.

"You can call me Suka," Suka told him, then turned her attention back to Rachel. "And yeah, you could consider this my first year."

"So, you're a Mudblood?"

"Peterson!" Higgs hissed sharply.

"What? It was just a question."

"What's a mudblood?" Suka raised an eyebrow in confusion. She could tell it was an insult of some kind, considering Higgs's reaction to it.

Higgs glared at the redhead. "It means Dirty Blood. A term used for wizards or witches who are born from muggle parents."

So, a slur, Suka gathered. The Wizarding World did have prejudices, it seems. Race just wasn't the main factor of those prejudices; blood was. She wasn't that surprised. That's how life was. She'd experienced it with being a ghoul herself and living in that detention center. People tended to hate things they didn't understand. Or rather, didn't want to understand. And those things were usually things that the person had no control over.

"And if I am," Suka asked, her tone going somewhat cold as she turned to her roommate. "I don't know my parents, never met them. I doubt I will." They were most likely dead. "I could honestly care less about your weird interest in someone's blood or heritage, but I will not sit here and be insulted. I am not above punching someone out on my first day here."

Higgs had a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide, along with a couple other students who were in earshot of the conversation. Rachel opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Severus stepping forward.

"Miss Mosukuwa," he drawled, holding out her schedule.

"Thank you," Suka said, the coldness instantly leaving her voice and a smile forming on her face. She took her schedule and got to her feet, swinging her bag over her shoulder. She shot an annoyed look at Rachel and stormed out of the Hall.

Glancing at her schedule, Suka had Advanced Potions for her first class. She shoved the paper into her bag and headed back towards the stairs that led to the dungeons. She had planned on just wandering around the castle, but she doubted she had time to do that now. She hoped that Rachel didn't have the same class as her, at least for the morning. Imagine being that rude to someone you didn't even know.

"Hey, wait a moment!"

Suka turned. She was on the main stairs to the dungeons. It was Higgs, jogging down to her.

"I wanted to apologize about Peterson," he said, stopping on the step above her, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets. "She picked up all that blood purity stuff from some of the other Slytherins. Despite her being from a lower Pureblood family. Like not many would sign an arranged marriage contract kind of low."

Suka blinked up at him. They still had arranged marriages? In these times? She chalked it up to it being another backward Magic Culture thing. "You don't need to apologize. You didn't say it."

"Still. She's a bitch sometimes. She shouldn't have done that."

Higgs held his hand out. "Could I see your schedule?"

"Oh, of course." She reached into her bag.

"Nice! We have Potions and Charms together." He frowned then. "That's it, though."

"Too bad," Suka said. "It would be nice to have someone I know."

"You'll be fine."

They continued their way down the stairs, not noticing the young male watching them from several steps above them. When they made it to the Potions classroom, a few students were already hanging out in the Hall outside the door.

"Are you a Pureblood?" Suka asked curiously, leaning against the wall.

Higgs took the spot next to her and slid down in a seated position. Thankfully, Higgs was pretty tall, so even sitting, his head came up to her hips. "Yeah, but my family doesn't care that much about the whole 'keeping the family line pure' or stuff like that."

He went quiet for a second. "It would be preferred for me to marry someone of the same blood or at least half-blood, but it's not like a pressure to do so. We're a neutral family."

Suka hummed in understanding. She had Higgs here, at least. She didn't know who else in Slytherin who shared the same views. "I appreciate you trying to stand up for me," she said. Her hand ended up down in the boy's hair. He glanced up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I had a few choice words for Rachel after you left," Higgs said. "It wouldn't be the first time she's done this shit."

"I can handle myself."

"Besides the point." He shook his head. "You may not know me much, but I got your back. Slytherins protect their own, even if it's against their own."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

The first two weeks at Hogwarts were frustrating, to say the least, and it wasn't because of the classes or the teachers like she had expected. Her frustration had come in the form that she hadn't expected: Harry James Potter. She personally didn't have any reason to interact with the boy, nor had she encountered him beyond general gossip. She doubted she would have even noticed him if it wasn't for the scent of blood coming from his person.

Whenever she did come by him (in the halls, passing the Gryffindor table, etc.), she'd smell the blood. Fresh blood. It had most likely started sometime during the first week of classes, and every time the smell got worse. Whatever wound this kid had was possibly infected. She wanted to confront Potter about it for being stupid enough to walk around bleeding. And not getting it checked out or treated to the point of infection. She just hadn't had the chance to approach him.

Suka was sitting in her Defense Against the Dark Arts class, not bothering to pay much attention. It wasn't like she needed to. Umbridge wasn't teaching them anything outside of books and theories. No actual practice of spells. Something to do with the Ministry.

She tapped the uninked point of her quill against her desktop. The Gryffindor and the Slytherins had a major rivalry going on. How long that has been going on, Suka didn't know, nor did she care. But that was a reason why she hadn't gone to Potter yet. People were dumb, following sheep, especially when they grow up around this "rivalry." So she just assumed that Potter would be deep in that aspect. He was also the 5th year, so running into him in any classes wasn't possible, even with elective courses.

The door to the classroom opened then, and Severus stepped in. "Miss Mosukuwa is needed in the Headmaster's office."

"What for?" Umbridge demanded, sounding annoyed. "We are in the middle of a lesson."

Several students, including Suka, rolled their eyes and exchanged exasperated looks. As if you could call this a "lesson." They weren't actually learning anything if they couldn't even do the spellwork.

"Family matters," the dark professor simply stated and left the room without another word. He shot her a look that clearly said, "hurry up," as he turned. Suka quickly and gratefully gathered her materials and was out the door too before Umbridge could stop her. She caught up with the Potions professor down the corridor.

She immediately inquired about what he meant by "family matters."

"I believe your guardian has decided to pay you a visit."

Suka's eyes lit up and was then racing through the halls, quickly leaving Severus behind. She had made it all the way to the gargoyle statue that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office when she realized that she didn't know that password. This left her waiting impatiently for her professor to catch up.

"Five points from Slytherin," Severus snapped at his student when he finally arrived. "No running in the halls."

Suka held back a smart remark, not in the mood to land herself detention. "The password?"

Severus glared at her, then turned to the gargoyle. "Cauldron cakes."

At the sound of the password, the gargoyle began twirling upwards, revealing a spiral staircase. Suka took the stairs two at a time until she faced the office door, which she flung up without bothering to knock.

"Hide!"

The man in question stood before the Headmaster's big wooden desk. He wore his usual white lab coat over a green button-down shirt and black slacks. His orangish hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, his smile warm and big, showing off the laugh lines on his face. Suka slammed into him, wrapping her arms around his torso, inhaling the familiar scent. Men's cologne and hospitals.

A chuckle rumbled against the side of her head that was pressed against his chest, and strong arms encircled her back, pulling her further into a bear hug. She pulled away and looked up at him, frowning with worry as she looked him over.

"What are you doing here? Did something happen? Are you okay-"

"Honestly, Suka, when are you going to start calling me 'dad'? Or at least 'father'?"

"Don't evade the question."

Hide sighed, shaking his head with a smile. "Calm down; you'll get early wrinkles with all that frowning." He pressed his thumb against her forehead. "Are those gray hairs I see?" He teased, catching a strand of hair with his fingers and inspecting it closely.

She slapped his hand away, laughing. "I haven't even been gone an entire month. I assumed something was wrong."

Albus spoke up then, who had been sitting back and watching the two interact with amusement. "I set up a floo network. Since it was long distance, it took a while to set up."

"It also costs a bit to travel here and back, so I can't do it often," said Hide. "But I wanted to come to see how things were going here."

Suka nodded. Hide did earn quite a bit of income working for the CCG, mostly in the detention centers' medical units. That's how they had first met. He was a highly respected researcher and medical. But he wasn't made of money. With paying for a year's of Hogwarts tuition, school supplies, and books, plus the small sum of money on the side for Suka to do what she wanted with, Hide only had so much to take care of himself and his needs.

That was a reason why she'd had doubts about attending the school. Hide had already sacrificed a lot for her, a lot of things he didn't have to do. Not only did he help a ghoul escape a detention center, something that would have cost him his job, his freedom, or even his life, he had also taken care of her for years.

And for that, Suka was eternally grateful, and she would return the favor someday.

"Ah, and I also got a new mask made for you." Hide reached into the pocket of his lab coat. "Uta owed me a favor."

He placed the mask in Suka's open palms. It was a maroon red that covered the nose and bottom half of her face. There were two big holes on each side at the cheeks and jaws, a breathing filter, she assumed. It hooked around her ears and around the back of her head to keep it secure when worn.

"It's for on the off chance that someone might identify your old mask back to Japan. It's not likely, but I'd rather be on the side of caution."

"Thank you." Suka squeezed Hide's side and put the mask in her robe pocket. "Do you want to go for a walk? I can show you around some of the castle."

"Sure! If it's okay with your Headmaster, of course."

Dumbledore waved them off with a smile. "It's fine with me. Be careful with Professor Umbridge, though."

"Yes, sir," Suka said. She turned to Hide. "I'll explain in a bit."

She led Hide out of the office. "Thanks, Professor!"

Suka was only able to show Hide a bit of the castle. Mainly the Great Hall, some of the unoccupied classrooms, the Lake, and the grounds. And the edge of the Forbidden Forest. She definitely wasn't letting Hide go in there. In the last hour of Hide's visit, they found themselves in the astronomy tower. There weren't going to class until night, so it was empty.

They watched the students roam the grounds. Most classes were ended now. She filled him in on her acceptance, the bridge adventure, the Sorting Ceremony, and the past two weeks of classes. About Higgs and the other Slytherins, and her accounter with Rachel.

Rachel hadn't talked to her since that outburst the first day, other than some glares here and there. Those were kind of hard to ignore, seeing as they lived in the same space.

"So, this Wizarding War, you aren't involved, are you?"

"Hell no. I don't want to be either. Once I graduate, I'm coming back to Japan anyway."

Hide frowned. "You want to return to Japan? What about the life you will have here? A year isn't that long, but it's enough to make a place. You have actual freedom here."

"What are you talking about? I have life and freedom."

"Do you really? You are wanted in Japan; it was a miracle that I could conceal you for this long. And you only lasted so long because I put myself out there for help from Anteiku."

"I'll be in danger no matter where I am," Suka tried to reason, but she was at the weak end of this argument.

"You'll just be forcing yourself back into hiding, into a life of constantly looking over your shoulder, prepared for attacks at any moment, worrying about being captured again. And if that happens, I doubt I'd be able to get you out again."

Suka avoided his eyes, opting to stare down at the grounds, but Hide grabbed her chin rather tightly and forced her to meet his intense brown gaze. This wasn't a side of Hide that often showed itself, but it demanded attention and got it when it did. "That's not living, Sukaretta. And I don't want you to return to that kind of existence."

He gently released her chin. She was silent for a moment, processing what he said.

"There is a war brewing to the surface here, a war that no one wants to admit is happening at that. A war that I, as much as I hate to admit it, could pull me in at full force. I could be killed just as easily here than I can in Japan. There's also a risk of exposing myself. What then? There are prejudices here, and I highly doubt that ends at just blood purities."

"There is nothing for me here, anyway. Nothing worth staying that is."

"Nothing for you here," Hide echoed. He brought his arm around Suka's shoulder and pulled her against him.

"Hide?"

"If you want to return to Japan when you graduate, you can. My home is always open to you, as is Anteiku. But please think about it, and keep an open mind. For me?"

She paused. Her eyebrows furrowed together. "Hide, are you sure everything's okay?"

"Everything's fine. Just...think about it. Please."

Suka nodded reluctantly. And all too soon, it was time for Hide to head back home. They returned to the Headmaster's office.

"I just want you to be happy," Hide said as he kissed Suka's forehead.

"I am happy," Suka mumbled. Hide simply smiled and hugged her again before stepping into the fireplace.

"I love you, and I'll see you when I get the chance. Text-well owl me." Hide laughed. "And be safe."

"I love you too, and I will."

Hide took the floo powder from the pot Albus was holding. "Shinjuku, Japan-Mask Studio." He threw the powder down, and he disappeared in the erupting green flames.

"I hope you enjoyed yourselves," Albus said as he placed the pot of floo powder on the mantle over the fireplace.

"Yeah..." Suka was still staring at the fireplace. She forced her gaze away. She smiled at Albus. He noticed that it didn't seem to reach her eyes. He told her that she had been excused for all the class she had missed. She just had to go get any makeup work she might have.

"Thank you," she bowed and left, heading straight to her dormitory. She wasn't in the mood to entertain conversations at dinner. Maybe Hide had a point...though she didn't know how anything could change in a simple year. She had people back in Japan that she held dearly. She wanted to go back to them eventually. Uta, Touka, everyone at Anteiku.

Sure, she would still have to stay mostly in hiding, but who else would she want to be around besides those who already know her? She didn't need anyone else. She had her family.

"Mosukuwa"

The common room was just down the Hall, and one of Higgs's friends, Marcus Flint, she thought his name was, was stepping out of the entrance. He was a large, vast man. Very...troll-like. In build, at least. Average looks at best with dark hair and even darker eyes. He towered over her.

"Yes? Flint, right?"

He grunted in confirmation. "Terence wanted me to come to find you. We have a study group meeting in the library, everyone should already be there. Would you like to join?"

Suka reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't know. I don't think I'm really in the mood to be around anyone right now."

"Please?" Suka blinked in surprise. It looked like it physically hurt him to utter that word. Flint rolled his eyes at her expression. "I'm only asking because I want Terence off my back. His reasoning is that he hasn't seen you all day; therefore, he's worried."

This had Suka rolling her eyes herself. "God, he's like a lost puppy. He literally saw me in the common room this morning."

"What's god?"

"Nothing." She wasn't about to sit here and explain muggle religions to him. She could feel a headache forming in the back of her head. She shook her head, regretting it when it bothered the forming headache. "Like I said, I'm not in the mood to be around others right now-"

Suka let out a shout as she was grabbed by her shoulders by two giant hands and slung over a muscled shoulder. "Flint put me down!" She whined.

"Don't want Higgs annoying me," he grunted as he started walking with the smaller girl. He had a hand placed on the small of her back to keep her from slipping and an arm around the back of her knees. Suka could very easily break his hold, but she didn't want to hurt him by accident in the process.

"But it's okay if he annoys me?"

"If it keeps him from bothering the rest of us, then yes."

Suka sighed and rested her weight on Flint. She didn't weigh much. At least not much to someone the size of Flint.

She was so kicking Higgs's ass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suka's Mask: https://www.stlfinder.com/model/tokyo-ghoul-tatara-cosplay-mask-stl-file-3d-print-model-pROknIgp/874709/


	3. Chapter 3

“The hell do you think you’re doing! Let me go!”

“Tell me where and why you’re injured, and I’ll let you go.”

Harry Potter didn’t know exactly how this situation even came about. He’d been heading back to the Gryffindor common room after his horrid detention with the Toad Umbridge, passing the library when she ran into a girl who was exiting. He had swiftly apologized, too focused on the pain in his cut into hand and just wanting to go to bed. He never noticed that same girl following him into another hall until he was suddenly pulled into an empty classroom.

And that’s where they were now. The new exchange student, Mosu--something that was sorted into Slytherin house, hovered above the Boy-Who-Lived. She had his wrists pinned to the floor by the sides of his head, and she straddled his chest.

Harry was switching between hoping someone had heard him yelling and come save from this girl who’d clearly lost her mind and praying that no one came to witness the position they were in. He was already in hot water these days, so he doubted he’d be able to explain himself out of the situation very easily.

When she’d initially pulled him into the classroom, she’d just shut the door and demanded him to tell her where he was hurt. How had she known he was injured? His school robes covered his hands. 

But Harry wasn’t stupid, no matter how many times Snape and others said he was. He didn’t know this girl, plus she was a Slytherin, which just added to his distrust. So he refused to answer; it was his damned right to do so! She asked again, and again he refused, attempting to leave the room. But that only ended with him on the floor and with the girl on top of him.

He struggled, he really did. But she was surprisingly strong. He huffed in annoyance, and slight fear, if he was truthful. “Why do you even want to know or care?”

The girl rolled her brown eyes. “I don’t want anything. I already know you’re injured. I’ve known for days now, and it’s fucking annoying. Now, just show me where it is.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Look, I’m just trying to help. Clearly, you’re too stupid to go to Madam Pomphrey; a dumb pride thing, I’m assuming?” She raised an eyebrow. “Leaving an injury untreated can lead to infection. I’m pretty sure it’s already infected, right?”

Harry turned his head to the side, looking at the wall from underneath the desk space. He didn’t need to go to Madam Pomphrey; he could handle it himself. If he went to Pomphrey and she found out about the blood quills, she’d go to McGonagall, who’d go confront Umbridge. And then Umbridge would know she’d gotten to him enough for him to go make a complaint about it, in turn making her worse towards him.

The girl’s grip tightened slightly around his wrists, bringing his attention back to her. Bright jade eyes stared up into intense brown ones.

“Please,” she said. “I just want to help. Honest.”

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. Then nodded slowly. “A-Alright.” Anything to get this girl off of him. She stared down at him for a moment, her long hair framing her face before she finally leaned back and got to her feet. She offered him a hand. Harry took it and let out a surprised yelp as he was pulled to his feet.

The Slytherin crossed her arms over her chest, looking...guilty? Good. She should. 

“I’m sorry for ambushing you like that.”

“Um, it’s fine...I guess.” Harry glanced at the door, the door that the girl had, unfortunately, stood herself in front of.

“Your injury?”

Harry sighed, and he raised his hand. He had taken to wearing a fingerless glove to hid the scar. He cursed quietly as he took it off, its fabric pulling at his skin from being put on over now dried blood. He held his hand toward her and watched her cautiously as she took her hand gently into hers. Her palms were slightly rough, kind of like his own.

“Um...What’s your name again?” He asked. Her eyes met his again from where she was, looking closely at his hand. He felt his cheeks redden. “I-It was said at the Sorting, but I don’t remember well. It’s...Japanese, isn’t it?”

“It’s Mosukuwa Sukaretto. Last name, then first name. But you can call me Suka if you’d like.” She smiled before looking down at his hand again.

Harry’s blush deepened and grimaced. “Mosukuwa, then.” He didn’t like the familiarity of just using her first name, not to mention using a nickname.

He heard her chuckle. He didn’t see what was so funny. 

“‘I must not tell lies.’ Where did you get this?” Mosukuwa asked, turning his hand left and right to look at different angles. His hand had finally stopped bleeding, at least.

Harry hesitated, again glancing at the door. Perhaps he could make a run for it? He flinched back a bit when she pinned him with a look that he couldn’t really read, but it definitely made him rethink his actions.

“Umbridge’s detentions,” he admitted, wincing slightly when Mosukuwa brushed her thumb over the words. She stopped immediately when she noticed, mumbling a ‘sorry.’ “She’s had me doing lines for the past couple of weeks.”

Mosukuwa raised her eyebrow at that. “...lines?”

“With blood quills. They’re-”

“Use your blood as ink,” she finished for him, cutting him off. She gave a sheepish smile. “Kind of self-explanatory by the name itself.”

“...yeah.”

“These wounds look deep. An infection has started to set in, but it’s not as far along as I thought it would be.”

“You seem to know a lot about this stuff,” Harry commented, curious.

“My father is a doctor. You haven’t told anyone about this?”

“Just my friends...I asked them not to tell anyone, though. You’re not going to take me to Madam Pomphrey, are you?”

Mosukuwa looked at him again. She was taller than him, Harry noticed. Maybe 5’7 in height compared to his 5’5. He was the shortest guy in his year, probably even the shortest in the 3rd years, and it kind of bothered him that even this girl was taller than him. Then again, she was older—a 7th year.

Mosukuwa, much to his relief, shook her head at his question. “No. I’m gonna assume there is a reason you aren’t reporting this. A good reason, I hope.”

Before Harry could respond, and without another word from the girl, she spat on his hand. He yelled in surprise and disgust and tried to yank his hand away. But Mosukuwa just tightened her grip on his hand, keeping him in place.

“What-” He shuddered as she started rubbing her saliva all over his wound before stopping and dropping his hand after a few seconds. As soon as she let go, Harry began to wipe his hand on his school robes. “Why the hell would you do something so gross?” He complained.

Well, it was confirmed now. This girl was insane. He wasn’t surprised. Stuff always happened to him no matter what he did. Was it too late to transfer to Durmstrang to finish his schooling? That seemed like the better option than Hogwarts, and its populous right now.

Or maybe he could just drop back into the muggle world, he mused. If he didn’t love his magic so much and the very few select people here, Harry would have bailed long ago.

Mosukuwa was silent and pointed at his hand that he was still rubbing against his robes. Harry paused, noticing that his hand didn’t hurt anymore, even with him rubbing it against the fabric. He looked down and brought his hand up, his eyes widening at the now healed wound. The words were still there, but they looked as if they were months old, showing up faintly on his skin.

“How?” Harry asked in awe.

“I would really like it if you went to your head of house about this, or the headmaster. Blood quills are illegal, and if she’s doing it to you, I wouldn’t doubt she’s doing it to other students as well. But it’s up to you.”

Harry looked up at the older girl and narrowed his eyes. “You care a lot for someone who’s just met me. Besides, I’m a Gryffindor; you’re in Slytherin. I would have expected you to just let me suffer or something.”

Mosukuwa laughed. It was a pleasant sound, like chiming bells. “I think it’s in human nature to care about one another. Or at least not liking seeing someone hurt. And the whole house rivalries stuff is extremely dumb, and I think I’m a bit too grown to be actively participating in the stereotypes and rumors of a school. And I think you are too.”

“Come on, it’s getting close to curfew. I don’t want you getting another detention right after I healed you.”

Mosukuwa walked to the door and opened it, looking up and down the corridor. She glanced over her shoulder back at him and smiled teasingly. “Better hurry. I’m pretty sure Snape patrols the halls most nights.”

Harry quickly followed her out into the hallway. Snape was the last person he’d like to run into right now. Or anytime for that matter.

“Stay safe, okay? And don’t walk around with your hand bleeding and untreated like that again. Seriously, you could lose your hand.”

Then she was gone, disappearing around the corner, her retreating footsteps falling silent the further she got until he couldn’t hear them anymore. Harry looked down at his hand again, thinking perhaps he’d just imagined that whole thing. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d been hallucinating shit. But the still healed hand only confirmed that, yes, it did actually happen.

Harry started back towards the common room again, and he was surprised to see it mostly empty when he arrived. He cast a Tempus. It was only 30 minutes until curfew. Hermione and Ron couldn’t have gone to bed already, right? They usually would wait up for him to make sure he got back okay.

But deep down, he was kind of relieved. He wouldn’t have to deal with any questions tonight, especially about his suddenly healed wound. Harry sat down on the empty couch, not wanting to go up to the dorm just yet. The common room was pretty much empty, aside from a few older years working on assignments at some of the tables. He wouldn’t want to be down here if it was fuller. People weren’t exactly fond of him this year, and he didn’t want to be bothered with their pettiness and stares.

He ran his fingers back and forth over the words on his hand, thinking back on the 7th year Slytherin. She was right, now that he thought about it clearly about Slytherin vs. Gryffindor. The rivalry was dumb, rooted in petty history. Slytherin was highly judged because of its past students, wrongly so. Harry had blindly fallen into the narrative and assumption that all Slytherins were terrible, just young Death Eaters in the making. That might be true for some, but he doubted all of them were. You could say that about any student in any house.

The wrong first impressions he’d experienced before he fully knew of the Hogwarts houses only fueled his views. First, Hagrid told him of Voldemort, then meeting Draco Malfoy in that robe shop hours later. And then he met Ron, who had pretty much the same stance as him, even encouraging it. Instigating. And then he’d encountered Snape in that first Potions class. It only increased his dislike. 

But that didn’t excuse how he saw and treated Slytherin as a whole, he realized.

He had almost been sorted into Slytherin himself. If it hadn’t been for the rumors and the people in it making him more determined not to go there, he would have been. He huffed a laugh at the idea of him with a green and silver tie instead of his red and gold one. He wondered how things would be different if he had just let the Sorting Hat place him where he wanted.

Harry hated it when people made assumptions about him. And that was hard to avoid with him being famous (infamous now?) Boy-Who-Lived. It always happened at the Dursleys too, but at least they somewhat knew him. They knew him better than the people of the Wizarding World, at least, as much as he hated to admit that. He’d actually lived with the Dursleys.

And they spread rumors of him to the neighbors, his school, anyone that may have encountered him long term. He was a troubled child, a delinquent, no good.

The Wizarding World wanted to flip on him every other second. One day he’s the Gryffindor Golden Boy, their Savior. Don’t even get Harry started on how he didn’t believe that a 1-year-old toddler could stop a Dark Lord like these people thought. The next day, he was an attention-seeking prat; he was crazy, a mad man.

Harry hated this. And yet...he did the same thing, didn’t he? Sure he wasn’t flip-floppy about it, but still hypocritical nonetheless. And he hated that he had to have someone bluntly point that out to him for him to realize.

His mind drifted back to Mosukuwa Sukaretto, and the corner of his mouth twitched up into a small smile. Perhaps he could learn a thing or two from her. And maybe through her, he could prepare a few bridges he hopefully hadn’t entirely destroyed.

\-----------------------------------------------------------

What kind of psychotic bitch uses blood quills on children?! Suka was beyond disgusted. She was able to heal Potter’s hand, but she was shocked to see a scar left behind. Usually, if it wasn’t a too severe injury, it would heal up with no problem and with no evidence of it even being there. But it appeared that blood quill scars leave their marks. She doubted even magic could get rid of them if her saliva couldn’t.

Ghoul saliva had healing properties, but only to a certain extent. It was mostly used to heal minor injuries, like cuts or small gashes. She prayed to whoever might hear her that revealing that ability wouldn’t come back to bite her in the ass.

Suka really hoped the boy would heed her advice and tell an adult. But Potter was the stubborn type, she could tell. It most likely had to do with the pride thing she’d mentioned earlier. He didn’t want to show any weakness to anyone. She could understand somewhat. If it got back to Umbridge, it could make things worse for him.

She hadn’t expected for Potter to run into her as she left the library. She was glad that she went by herself as she was finally able to take the opportunity to get Potter alone. Perhaps pinning the boy to the floor like she did had been a bit extreme. She could get into trouble if he reported her. But she did what she thought she had to do at the time. And it did get her the results she wanted.

Now, hopefully, Potter would keep himself out of detentions. Detentions with Umbridge, at least. She scoffed as she entered the Slytherin common room. She didn’t keep her hopes up.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a fair warning for my readers, this chapter tends to switch back and forth between POV like mid dialogue sometimes (or mid scene), so instead of going through the hassle of just typing out *Character's POV* everytime it switches I just switched between the use of the characters' last and first names. 
> 
> Meaning if I use a character's first name, that means that it is that character's POV
> 
> For example: If I use (Harry said, Harry looked, Harry etc. etc.), it is Harry's POV. 
> 
> I hope that wasn't too confusing to understand, and I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

It was gradually rolling to the end of September, and Suka's schedule was already jam-packed with classwork, studying, and essays galore. It didn't bother her much, aside from it interrupting her research on occasion. 

She could handle the heavy workload, probably because she felt like Touka Kirishima as a teacher had been slightly more complicated. Hide had Touka teaching her since she couldn't attend schools herself, considering the CCG knew her face, and she was very much still a wanted ghoul.

And man was Touka strict. Last she heard, she was going into her 2nd year of college when Suka had left for Hogwarts.

After the first week of school, Umbridge was appointed 'High Inquisitor' of Hogwarts. Almost every class fell under her watchful eye from the classrooms' corners, taking notes and asking students and teachers questions. Umbridge had taken a dislike for her, well more than she already had for most children.

Suka believed this stemmed from the professor not getting any information on Suka's "family matters" that had pulled her out of class. And Suka had taken to merely staying silent, or just replying with an abrupt "no comment" whenever the pink-clad woman came to her with her questions. Which, of course, didn't help, but it was amusing to see Umbridge's reactions.

Suka was sitting in the Slytherin common room with Higgs, who was working on a Charms essay. Suka sat cozily leaning against the arm of the sofa with a book in her lap. It was another one she'd borrowed from the restricted section despite the book title and a lot of the paragraphs within being in a different language. It wasn't in any language she had seen before, but at least she didn't have to hide it from others.

The title was a small squiggly text that she couldn't, for the life of her, make out. There were English texts in the book that she could read, but she was very curious about the text she couldn't. The text kind of hurt her eyes if she stared at it too long. Perhaps she could find someone to translate it if she ever figured out what precisely the language was.

"Mosukuwa," someone called. Suka looked up from her reading to look at one of the 3rd year boys standing by the entrance; the door cracked a bit.

"Yes?"

"Um, Potter's out there asking for you; Harry Potter. He said that Snape told him to come to get you."

The boy and the other students around to hear looked skeptical and scoffed at the unbelievable excuse. Suka could understand why. Why would Snape send Harry Potter, of all people, to come to get one of his house students?

"Potter?" Higgs snorted. "He's brave and dumb coming down here. He by himself?"

The 3rd year nodded with a smirk forming on his face. Suka could see where this was heading.

"Let's not jump the boy," Suka snickered, shutting her book and getting to her feet. "I doubt we'd want the headmaster on our backs, right? This is the Golden Boy, after all."

Suka grabbed her bag, tucking the book under her arm, and headed out of the common room without another word.

Sure enough, Potter stood in a somewhat defensive stance in the hallway. Once the entrance shut entirely behind her, she grabbed his wrist, careful of his hand, which she knew was bleeding and injured once again, and pulled him down the hall.

Suka hadn't spoken to the boy since she'd healed him the first time, and she knew that he'd gotten more detentions after that. But she had been too preoccupied with school and her own stuff, and she hadn't had the opportunity to corner him alone. Besides, he was avoiding her, she knew. So she was surprised that he'd willingly sought her out, even coming to the heart of the "Snake Pit." Stupid, brave Gryffindor.

They entered an empty classroom, and Suka cast a silencing and locking charm to ensure their privacy, which she was sure that Potter preferred.

"Another detention?" Suka asked, setting her wand and the book on a nearby desk. Suka placed her bag on the floor next to it.

"That obvious?" Potter grunted, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly when she'd placed her wand down.

"A bit," Suka admitted with a sheepish smile, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm glad that you came and got me, though, rather than just suffering on your own. You seemed very adamant about not going to any of the adults around here."

Suka pulled two desk chairs over and placed them facing each other, sitting down. She looked at Potter and smirked. "Is this going to be a repeat of last time?" She asked, amused, holding out her hand.

"I wouldn't be here if that were the case," Harry said, still somewhat hesitant as he sat in the seat across from her and placing his scared hand in hers. He shivered as the back of his hand became warm and wet, and the salvia was spread over the wound. He glanced over at the table as Mosukuwa leaned back and let the saliva sit for a moment before cleaning up his hand with a napkin.

He pointedly ignored the gentle way she dealt with his wound, and his eyes fell on the book, turning his head to the side to try and make out the cover title. His eyes widened, and his body stilled. Necromantiae aliisque doubus Ritualibus. What was she doing with a book like that and carrying around openly too?

He swallowed hard. "Why do you have that?"

"Huh?" Suka reacted, releasing the boy's newly healed hand. She watched it fall back into his lap, and his fingers were clenched, and she watched as he leaned over and snatched her book off the table.

"A book?" She said slowly, confused.

"On necromancy?"

"You can read the title?" She asked.

"Yes," Potter snapped impatiently, waving the book in front of her face. "Can you not?"

Suka shook her head. The cover title was still that same squiggling lines, and she knew some of the content inside was the same. "I actually can't read a lot of it. Some of the book is just regular English, but the rest are just these squiggly lines. No language I've ever seen."

The 7th year shrugged, taking the book from the Gryffindor and flicking through its pages. The book was clearly about rituals, at least the English parts were. They talked about rituals and their corresponding spells.

"Dark" is what most would call this nowadays, though Suka did not see where they get that idea. Most practices listed were just magic enhancing and soul connecting. Rituals centered around Samhain and Yule, speaking on their traditions and significance to magic. Suka herself was considering looking more into these, but other than that, it was just some light reading for her.

"Squiggly lines?" Potter snatched the book back from the girl and just ignored the abrupt "Hey!". Then recognition dawned on him.

"What?" Suka asked, taking in the change on Potter's face.

"It's parseltongue..." Potter whispered.

She echoed him with a raised eyebrow.

"It's snake language," he said after a moment of silence. He looked up at her, then away again as if she would react negatively to that information.

Suka took the book back, facing the cover at him. "So, what's it say?"

Jade eyes snapped to meet hers, expansive and kind of hopeful. "You don't care that I'm a parselmouth?"

"Should I?"

"W-Well, most people believe it's an evil trait," he said. "Only Salazar Slytherin and his descendants like Voldemort can speak it, a hereditary trait of Dark Wizards. B-Besides me, of course," He rushed to say. "That's why everyone believed I was the heir of Slytherin back during 2nd year, I-"

"Have you not heard about any of this?" Potter asked.

"Besides people saying that you're an attention-seeking madman, I haven't heard anything. Then again, I tend to ignore gossip if it doesn't involve me. I doubt I'd be getting the correct story anyway."

Suka smirked teasingly. "Unless you are this "Heir of Slytherin" character?"

"No." came the instant reply.

Suka chuckled. "I'm just fucking with you. But, for real, what does it say?"

"Necromantiae aliisque doubus Ritualibus. 'Necromancy and other Rituals,'" Potter said with narrowed eyes. "Where did you get this?"

She started flicking through the pages again. 

"The restricted section," she admitted rather nonchalantly. 

The rituals and information centered around the necromancy aspect must be the part in parseltongue—a pretty efficient way of protecting information that you wouldn't want others to be able to know.

"And why would you want to read something like that?" Potter looked much like he did the first night. Rigid and ready to run, and a hint of dread within his jade eyes. Suka cocked her head to the side and gave a simple response.

"Just looked interesting."

"You think dark magic is interesting?" He asked in an incredulous tone.

Mosukuwa had a pensive expression on her face before speaking. "In theory, yes. A lot of the things people label as dark magic isn't dark at all. Usually, they just lack understanding, and they fear change and things they are unfamiliar with. Anything can be dark if you want to go by the Ministry and society's way of seeing things."

Harry got to his feet abruptly, the chair shoving back and the legs dragging on the floor. 

"It's illegal, the practice!" He blurted, almost frantically. "It taints your soul, your entire being doing rituals and spells like that!"

Mosukuwa's eyes narrowed, a look coming upon her face that Harry had not seen before in their short encounters. It was hard, and it had him flinching back. Her glare rivaled even Snape's!

"Yes, some can do that," She said, her tone a bit lower than before, icier. "But that's the keyword: some. The only thing that can really decide what is dark and what is light, if you want to stay in black and white scenarios, is one's intent."

"Intent?" Harry repeated slowly, deficiency still evident on his face and in his posture. His eyes even darted between Mosukuwa and the door, much like that night.

But he made no moves to make a run for it. Mosukuwa's face softened a bit, and she tenderly reached forward and grabbed hold of his wrist, disregarding the tension she felt there.

Potter seemed...frightened of her and wary. Her heart clenched. She wondered why he would come to her a second time if this were the case. He allowed her to bring him into a room alone with her, a space under a silencing charm and a locking charm, even after the way she ambushed him before.

"I'm sorry, I'm very direct," she said smoothly, pulling on his wrist. "Please, hear me out." 

The side of her mouth went up to form a crooked smile as the boy slowly lowered himself back into the chair.

"Thank you," Mosukuwa said, freeing his wrist. She missed the slight redness that dusted his cheeks, much to Harry's relief.

"Now, let me give an example of what I mean when I say 'intent' because sometimes people need a scenario or an analogy to fully be able to grasp a concept." Mosukuwa placed the book to the side on the table. "Take the curse 'Reducto.' It's a useful spell, no?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I used it last year during the third task."

"To do what?"

"Cedric, he was being attacked by roots; they were dragging him. I used 'Reducto' to get him out."

She clapped her hands together. "Okay. That's perfect! Now, that would be considered a 'light' spell, right? Because your intent wasn't to harm; it was to rescue and protect your friend."

Mosukuwa lifted her hand up, her palm facing her, and her fingers spread. "However, if I were to use that spell to blast a person's fingers off one by one..." she trailed off, flicking her spread fingers with her other hand.

Harry recoiled. "You're torturing someone."

"Exactly. So then, with the logic we're going by, that spell would need to be sent under the 'dark' classification."

She continued. "I feel that you can't really put magic under such a strict category of just dark and light. Magic isn't a being or a thing you can just place into human-made categories."

She fell silent, allowing what was said to sink in. It was broken when Mosukuwa asked Harry if he could teach her this parseltongue. He shifted in his seat.

"I don't think it's something that can really be taught..."

"Wouldn't hurt to try," she shrugged. "Could you maybe translate the text then?"

Harry shot her a look, which she rolled her eyes at. "I'm not going to do anything with it. I'm honestly just curious. Besides, understanding things that an enemy could possibly use against you, or maybe whatever ritual that gives them an advantage can be a good thing."

"...I suppose it couldn't hurt, but..."

"What if I gave you something in return?" Mosukuwa suggested.

Harry leaned forward, elbows resting on his thighs. "I don't want anything."

He watched the older girl stand. "I don't know a whole lot about your situation, or your war with this Dark Lord person-"

"You believe that Voldemort is really back?" Harry demanded, eyes widening. That was unexpected. He'd spent the last few weeks, hell all summer even, being openly called a maniac. He was said to be lying about everything for attention by the Ministry and the wizarding world. He faced constant defamation outside of Ron and Hermione, and those in the Order. It was sort of...exhilarating.

"I have no reason not to," Mosukuwa answered. "But I have no plans of involving myself in it anyway. But you're the hero, right? The guy destined to defeat the bad guy?"

He made a face but nodded. "That's one way to put it, I guess," he said cautiously.

"Is anyone training you?" She enquired. "Clearly, you aren't learning anything with the trash ass professor we have this year, but have you been taught anything to defend yourself?"

Harry thought for a moment. "...Besides the Patronus Charm I learned in the third year...and maybe information about the Unforgivables last year. I can throw off the Imperius curse fairly easily. But outside of that, not really."

As those words left his mouth, awareness slowly seeped in. He had been beyond lucky, the fact that he was still alive after all his encounters with Voldemort, not even counting the situations outside of those! In terms of survival, it was genuinely luck-based because he certainly had been at a disadvantage.

The 7th year was wandering around the room as he spoke before finally coming to a stop in front of him, forcing him to look up. Her hair had a curly wet look to it, he noticed, a little frizzy, but not like Hermione's natural textured hair. She had a bronzy shimmer on her eyelids that reflected off the light of the room a bit, and her lips were a dark rosy red. Gryffindor colors. They looked very nice on her.

Harry snapped his gaze away, his face burning up when he realized where his focus was. He concentrated on what she was saying, ignoring his heart that definitely wasn't picking up speed! 

"Would you like me to tutor you in return for you translating the text for me? I've learned quite a bit in my short time here and with my own research. It can be beneficial for both of us."

"You just said you had no plans of involving yourself. You helping me is very much getting involved, at the source, in fact."

"No offense, but you're a sitting duck, and it's not like it'll kill me to help. And again, we're both getting something out of it."

This is the Wizarding World's only hope? You'd think they'd be preparing him in some way, Suka thought. 

She could understand them wanting him to have a childhood, be a regular teen. Still, at the same time, he could be killed so quickly, and his chances of survival lessened the longer he remained unprepared. Luck would only take you so far...

"I'll keep what I teach you within the box of your 'moral' code if that would make you more comfortable."

Harry lamented, almost in defeat. "Alright, but how do we go about this? Umbridge practically the entire school watched, and a Slytherin and a Gryffindor being seen together would certainly raise suspicions, not to mention that the Gryffindor in question is me."

"Leave that to me," she said, smiling. "I'm sure we can find something."

\-------------------------------

Harry heard back from her the next morning, sooner than he'd expected. It was a Friday, and thankfully Harry had been up for actually eating something that morning. 

Hedwig came swooping down with the other owls along the lengths of the house tables, dropping off the mail. His snowy owl dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet (which he just passed over to Hermione without a second glance) and a small folded paper that wasn't even in an envelope. He handed Hedwig a few bacon pieces before she took off and unfolded the paper, confused.

Meet me before breakfast ends. In that classroom from yesterday. ~M.S.

Harry glanced up at the Slytherin table across the hall. It was one of the days that the Slytherin actually showed up in the Great Hall for meals, at least from what he saw once he started paying more attention to her in the past week. She skipped meals a lot, mostly lunches and dinners.

But when she did attend, she usually sat with the other 7th year Slytherins, same as today, and Draco Malfoy and his posse. Though that may be because he was close to Higgs.

Her hair was in a high ponytail today, with two loose sections that framed the sides of her face. Her makeup was the same as before, from what Harry could make out at that distance. It was most likely her everyday go-to look.

A hand-loomed suddenly in front of his face and snapped, the sound bringing him back to the table. He shook his head and looked at Hermione, who had leaned over the table.

"Are you okay?" She asked, sitting back down now that she had his attention again. "You spaced out."

"Sorry," Harry responded.

"Who's the note from?" Ron questioned, his voice stifled from the food stuffed in his mouth. "Snuffles?"

"No, it's..." He paused. Should he tell them what he'd be doing?

The petty side of him told him no. After the events of 4th year, they had been all cooped up comfortable in Grimmauld's Place. And Harry had been stuck with the Dursleys with no letters and no news of what had been going on in the Wizarding World. 

He'd been wholly isolated all because "Dumbledore had told them not to say anything." Left in the dark on everything when the majority of it concerned him!

This was why he'd agreed to the plan, because despite his wariness of the girl, Mosukuwa was right. It was unimaginably absurd for them to be treating him like this. Harry hated when he sounded self-centered or as if the world revolved around him, but he was Voldemort's primary target, and he needed to protect himself and those he loved around him.

But then there was the other side of him that still wanted his friends to at least be aware of his whereabouts and who he was with. He wasn't fearful of the Slytherin. More on the side of caution at this point. There was more to Mosukuwa than what was presented on the surface; he was sure of it!

He sighed. "Mosukuwa wants me to meet her before breakfast ends," he said quietly, aware that they were still seated at the crowded table. People loved to eavesdrop, especially nowadays. Hermione instantly casted a 'muffliato' spell around the trip while Ron gave a grunted "Who?"

"The Slytherin exchanged student?" Hermione inquired, her eyebrows rising on her forehead. Harry nodded dubiously.

"How do you even know her?"

The jade-eyed boy cringed. He'd overlooked that they weren't exactly in the loop of his interactions with Mosukuwa. He quickly did the necessary things anyway, like her healing him and the deal they'd made.

"She's going to be tutoring me, in defense, I believe, in exchange for me translating this book for her." Harry pulled out the book and placed it on the table amongst the plates of food. 

There was no point in hiding it, only he was able to read the cover. 

"It's in parseltongue," he explained as Hermione took the text, running her hand over the surface with a confused look upon her face. "There are passages in English, but for the most part, it's parseltongue."

Hermione nodded in understanding, placing the book back down.

"So, that's what you were doing last night," Ron said, peering at the book curiously. Harry raised a questioning eyebrow. "You were up for a while, mate. I may be a heavy sleeper, but your desk lamp is kind of bright."

"That also explains why you came back healed last night and the week before. Healing saliva..." Hermione muttered, a look of pondering flashing on her face. She turned to look over her shoulder at the Slytherin table, only to quickly whip back around with an awkward squeak. "She's looking at us."

Hermione ran a hand over her mouth. "Perhaps she has creature blood in her line..." Hermione was speaking more to herself than her friends now. "I've never heard of such a thing."

It seemed that Hermione was on the same line as Harry. That there was more to this girl than meets the eye. 

He glanced over Ron's shoulder, and sure enough, she was looking at them. Their eyes met and held each other's gazes for a moment until Mosukuwa quirked an eyebrow and gave a crooked smile. He had to break their staring contest.

"Harry, are-are you blushing?" Ron asked.

"N-No!" Harry ran his fingers under his round glasses in an attempt to mask what he knew was his red-tinted cheeks. His skin may be on the more tanner side, but it still let through the physical side of embarrassment, unfortunately. He cursed this fact bitterly.

"You should keep away anyway," Ron remarked, taking another bite of his food. "She's a Slytherin. Who knows what she could be up to. This isn't like before this year where it was all relatively harmless pranks and bullying."

"You think I'm not already perfectly aware of that," Harry snapped, putting the book back into his back next to the notebook he'd dedicated to the translations.

He'd finished a few pages, and the stuff he had translated was...very much disturbing to read, let alone write out in English. And he had barely gotten out of the Introduction! Yet, he had to agree with Mosukuwa to a small extent. It was a bit interesting.

He sighed. "But she is offering something I can use. I decided to tell you everything on the off chance that something does happen. You know who I'll be with."

"You can not be bloody serious, mate?!" Ron exclaimed loudly. Thank Merlin, Hermione had put up that charm.

"I'm dead serious."

"She's a Slytherin!"

"And?"

"And, AND?! You-"

"Ronald," Hermione asserted, cutting in before the boys could get any more heated than they already were. Their relationship was still kind of tense from the year before, and she sometimes worried that there might be a repeat of it. Only worse, with them breaking their friendship completely.

"While you do have a point, Ron," she said, watching the redhead closely. "So does Harry. It can be helpful. Mosukuwa is an older year, and she's technically an outsider in a way with being an exchange student. So, she could give us a different view of things because she isn't being obscured with having been grown up here."

She glanced at Harry. "Plus, it can help Harry with his own teachings."

"Can't believe I let you guys talk me into that," the Boy-Who-Lived grumbled. Hermione ignored him.

"If she's any good at tutoring you, you can bring what you learned from her to us and the others that might join."

"So they agreed to meet?" Ron asked, the red face and aggression from moments before had mostly disappeared, leaving behind slight irritation and disbelief.

"Hogsmeade weekend next week is our only opportunity, really," said Hermione.

Harry hummed, glancing across the hall again to see Mosukuwa getting up to leave. He caught her eye as she was going, and she raised two fingers briefly before passing around the corner.

"She wanted me to wait two minutes," Harry told his friends. He cut off Ron before he could say anything, looking sharply at him. "I'm going."

"Well, at least she's discreet about it," Hermione sighed. "You don't have a class off after breakfast, do you?"

Harry rolled his eyes. Of course, Hermione was worried about classes. "No, not until 11, and that's Transfiguration, which all three of us have. So if I don't show up for that, you're allowed to panic."

Harry rose and grabbed his bag. Before he could go far, his wrist was seized by a freckled hand.

"Just be careful, okay," Ron said, looking intently and very serious. Harry could see concern swimming in the blue eyes of his best friend, and Harry relaxed a bit and smiled tenderly, nodding. Ron nodded back and seemed to realize the rather affectionate act he'd just pulled, and clumsily let go. Harry chuckled to himself and left for the classroom.

The two watched him go, and finally, Hermione let down the charm. Ron still felt exasperated about the whole thing, but he knew Harry was stubborn and annoyingly self-sacrificing. The redhead turned back to his plate. 

"I knew he had a thing for Asian girls, but you'd think he'd draw the line at the slimy snakes-"

A slap sounded, and it was followed by a pained yelp and a whine of "Hermione!" as the redhead clutched his arm.

\-------------------------------

Harry made it to the classroom and stopped in his tracks when he got inside, and Mosukuwa wasn't in the room. His stomach kind of dropped in disappointment. Perhaps she hadn't been as serious about this as he assumed? No, she had to be to an extent. He still had her book, and she seemed really adamant about wanting those translations.

His inner turmoil didn't last much longer when the Slytherin finally came through the door, making him jump. She stared at him as she shut the door and casted a 'muffliato' spell.

"You okay?" She asked, looking worried.

"M'fine," Harry said as she approached.

"Sorry, I wasn't in here before you," she apologized sheepishly. "Flint held me up for a bit."

Mosukuwa had a fond look on her face as she chuckled. He didn't understand how one could look like that when thinking of Flint, of all people. Harry winced and shook his head internally. He didn't know Flint, so he had no place to feel like that.

"Anyways," Mosukuwa said. "We have a two-hour window to get this done and so that your little friends don't go on a manhunt if you don't show up for class."

"How did you-"

Mosukuwa waved her hand at him dismissively and ignored him. "Now, I asked around about what was going on during your 2nd year. Not for the story itself; if I wanted that, I'd ask you. Is there really a Chamber of Secrets?"

"And the chamber beast? Is it still there?"

"There was," Harry responded, feeling pleased that Mosukuwa wasn't taking others' words and gossip as fact when they didn't know the real story. "A basilisk, but it's dead. It's probably pretty much decomposed by now."

Mosukuwa blinked. Once. Twice. "A basilisk? You left a dead fully grown basilisk in some hidden chamber under the school?"

"...yes...?"

"Potter, those are extremely rare creatures. Even a dead one could go for a lot of money, mainly for their scales, fangs, and venom. Especially their venom! And you left it there?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably at the reminder of the basilisk venom. He knew first hand the effects of it. Then he huffed. "Sorry for not thinking about how much the creature could make me when I was fighting for my fucking life and was at risk of fucking dying from its venom."

"Fair enough," Mosukuwa said with a shrug. "So, there is a chamber, and the basilisk is dead. We can use that as our area. I assume that no one can get in easily unless they can speak parseltongue. Where's the entrance."

"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."

"Who?"

"Uh, she's the ghost that haunts the first-floor girls' bathroom," Harry clarified. Mosukuwa must not have come across the dead student before. "She doesn't leave the bathroom often, but she was killed by the basilisk there around 50 years ago."

"We should be able to get in without much trouble. The girls tend to avoid that bathroom because of Myrtle."

"Great! We can work with that!" Mosukuwa grinned. "We should go check it out."

Harry nodded; they had the time. At least he did. He wondered if Mosukuwa had a free period like he did or if she was just skipping class for this. If that was the case, he hoped it wasn't Umbridge's class she was missing. He'd hate to see her have one of the Toad's detentions.

"You go ahead and go. I'll follow a bit after," Mosukuwa said, pushing him towards the door. "Breakfast ends in a few minutes, so you better hurry if we don't want to get caught up by anyone."

Looking out into the hall, Harry made sure that it was empty before stepping out of the room and heading back upstairs.

\-------------------------------

Wails exploded in the air and sounded off the tiled bathroom as Moaning Myrtle zoomed back into her stall, the frame rocking roughly, leaving the two Hogwarts students standing awkwardly after her.

"She's not going to draw anyone's attention, is it?" Suka asked as Potter rolled his eyes and walk over to the large sinks. He seemed very unconcern about what had just occurred.

"Everyone is used to her crying," Potter said, stopping in front of a sink and waving the 7th year over. "This is the entrance."

He pointed out a tiny snake engraving on the side of the faucet.

"I doubt this place was originally a bathroom when the chamber was initially built," Suka commented.

Potter simply responded with a shrug, and then a hissing noise erupted from his lips. It was low, and even with her hearing, Suka could barely catch on. It was much like a regular snake, but a kind of hypnotic calming aura to it. It was quickly over, though, as the sinks rumbled apart, revealing a large dark hole leading underground.

Potter took a step back, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, I usually try and warn people before I speak in that."

Suka blinked at him. Why was he apologizing? "No warning needed," she assured him. "It was kind of relaxing, really. Calming."

"R-Relaxing? Calming?" Potter echoed, his fingers twitching, and his eyes wide as he glanced around the room with his eyebrows furrowed. He looked anywhere but at her. "Most people find it creepy or scary..."

Suka didn't respond. Instead, she was peering down the dark hole before them.

"It's kind of like a slide," Potter said.

"Are there any stairs, maybe?"

"I'm not sure. This is only my second time going down there, and the first time we hadn't really thought about it. We were in a rush and...sort of had a hostage."

Suka snorted, which turned into full out laughter, clutching onto the side of one of the other sinks. She could hear Potter himself giving away some of his own chuckles.

"O-Okay," Suka gasped, choking back the remains of her giggles. "Let's ask for some stairs, then you definitely have to fill me in on your hostage story."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I know I had fun writing it!
> 
> I wanna do something I've seen another writer on here do at the end of their chapters, which is asking questions to get to know their readers more. I'm doing this for my other chaptered stories as well!
> 
> Sooooo, what are you guys' favorite fanfiction tropes? I love me some angst and those slowburns *Chefs kiss*


	5. Chapter 5

The chamber did, in fact, have a set of stairs if asked for. It was a slower way down and a slippery track, but it was certainly cleaner than sliding down the grimy, sludge-covered pipes. The sink entrance closed behind them, plunging them into complete darkness for a second before Mosukuwa's wand lit up.

Harry stepped to the right side of the stairs, making Mosukuwa take the left side near the wall. The stairs had no railing to protect them from falling, and Mosukuwa seemed to take notice of this as well as Harry sort of directed her to his left. She smirked.

"So gentlemanly," she cooed playfully.

"Shut it," he said, flushing.

They made their way downwards, and Mosukuwa asked Harry to tell her the events of his 2nd year. Harry still found it somewhat bewildering to be asked that. Everyone, outside of Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, and the Weasleys, had drawn their own conclusions of what had happened that year, without getting the real facts, if any at all.

And if they did bother to search into the story, they just accepted what they were told, no matter who's mouth it came from. So he took this opportunity that had presented itself to him and also using it as a point to vent a bit.

Soon they were at the bottom, and Harry cut off from telling his first encounter of Tom Riddle's diary. The small animal bones crunched under their feet, and Harry lit his own wand as Mosukuwa wandered away from him, taking her light with her.

"You said the basilisk got around through the plumbing?" Mosukuwa asked, lowering her light towards the ground to look at the discarded remains. She was holding the sleeve of the robe of her free arm to her nose and mouth to block off the smell, Harry assumed.

He looked at her curiously, thinking back to what Hermione had said earlier about creature blood. It stunk down there, no doubt, but it only causes Harry to crinkle his nose occasionally at a powerful whiff passing his nostrils. Maybe he was just used to it from his last venture down there? But that had been almost three years ago.

"Yeah," he replied when Mosukuwa looked over at him with a raised eyebrow of waiting. "That's how it caught Myrtle. She'd been crying in front of the sinks when it came up, I think."

The girl hummed, raising her wand and stepping to the side. "Lead the way."

As they went further down the main tunnel, Harry knew they were going the correct way when they came upon the large and long shredded basilisk skin. It was slowly wasting away, but there was still a lot there.

"Wow," Mosukuwa whispered in awe, running her fingers along the molted skin and broken scales. "This had to be at least 40 feet long! And one of the founders out this in a school? You wizards are insane!"

It wasn't said in disgust, more amusement and wonderment, disbelief.

"I'd love to know what was going through Salazar Slytherin's head back then," Harry agreed. "Well, beyond the "no muggle-borns" stuff."

"Another blood purity thing?" Mosukuwa guessed.

"That's what's said, at least. Well, at least it was by the time Voldemort became stepped up as Slytherin's heir. 'Enemies of the Heir Beware.' Voldemort does hate muggles and muggle-borns alike; half-bloods have a little leeway but not much. He's very into blood purity from what I've seen and heard, which is funny considering he's a half-blood himself."

"we love irony," Mosukuwa laughed, amused.

They followed the shredded skin all the way to the blocked-off path. He'd forgotten about that.

"Did you have something to do with this?" Mosukuwa asked, hearing the boy curse.

"I guess you can say that. It was Lockhart's stupidity that caused it, though," Harry said. "He got ahold of Ron's wand; I told you that he never got a replacement for the broken one, so he had to make due. He tried to obliviate us, but it backfired onto him, slamming him into the ceiling."

"Smooth..." Mosukuwa said as she walked up to the large cave in. She reached for one of the large pieces of rubble and gave a hard tug at it, shifting it in its place a little.

"Um, I don't think that's a good idea..." Harry urged carefully, looking warily at the where the top of the pile touched the roof. But Mosukuwa didn't appear to be listening as she pulled at the stone again, grunting. He was about to tell her that it was probably useless because he had had many difficulties trying to move the heavy rocks when the rock pulled free. The rubble above it came crashing down to fill the empty space.

Mosukuwa stumbled back and disappeared within a cloud of debris. Harry coughed, waving his hand in front of his face. The dust cleared quickly, thankfully, but the path was still blocked off.

"Well, that was a dud," said Mosukuwa, dropping the stone she still had in her hand. "There must be a larger pocket up there."

"I tried to tell you," Harry said. He patted his hands over his robes but wasn't very successful in getting any of the dirt off. Great, he'd have to clean up before class now. Mosukuwa was in a similar state, a bit more seeing as she'd been closer, though she didn't appear bothered in the least. She wiped her face, the lipstick she had on smudging with the dirt. The dirt smeared across her cheek and nose. She decided to completely wipe the smudged makeup off onto her sleeve when Harry pointed it out, a calculating look in her eyes as she looked around the cavern.

"There has to be another way in..." She turned to Harry. "How'd you manage to get out?"

Harry opened his mouth, then quickly snapped it shut, staring blankly. "I don't really remember..."

The time between Fawkes healing the basilisk wound and waking up in the hospital wing was very blurred and spacy. He'd never actually thought about it nor asked. He could not, for the life of him, remember even leaving out of the basilisk's nest.

"Maybe we can try one of these other tunnels," she said, shining her wand in the direction of two other tunnels right beside each other. "This one might loop around somewhere."

She casted a tempus charm. "We have time still."

Harry nodded and retook the lead down one of the tunnels, the one closest to the cave in as it might be the most likely one to loop into the chamber. As the path began going further downwards, a slanting terrain in some points, Harry questioned whether they should turn back. It was getting darker the further they went and wetter. Puddles layered the floor, some creating little streams running along the rocky surfaces. The smell was getting worse as well, mold and mildew, and it was so quiet between the two students, the only sound being their slick footsteps and the constant drip and running water.

Mosukuwa kept moving her wand around, looking at their surroundings as they walked. It kind of annoyed Harry a bit as it pulled away the second light source from their path. The more light, the better, and he would like not to trip and fall. His fingers twitched around the wood of his wand and at his side rapidly. His eyes snapped every which way at each sound or movement he thought he'd seen in the inky darkness.

Then the tunnel came to a dead end.

Mosukuwa huffed, walking away from Harry. His already kind of obscured vision got worse with only seeing a bit way in front of him and Mosukuwa and the surrounding area around her. Harry began to realize how lightheaded he felt then. Did that usually happen underground? Maybe, he wasn't sure. He hadn't felt like this last time he'd been down here. But then again, he'd been very focused on saving Ginny and not being killed, plus recovering from the basilisk poison, hadn't he?

Harry reached for his forearm where the healed-up basilisk scare was and scratched at it through the fabric of his robes. He felt, rather than heard, something shift behind him somewhere, and he whipped around, his wand raised. Staring into the darkness behind them, a flash of yellow appeared, like two large glaring eyes looking back at him. He didn't know what spell he casted; he didn't even hear the incantation fall from his lips. Orange glow erupted from the tip of his wand, hurtling into the darkness behind them and slamming into something unseen further down. Probably the wall.

"Potter!" Mosukuwa shouted over the blast, and she was at his side suddenly. "What the hell!?"

But he couldn't focus on what she was saying. The air was entering his lungs at a rushed pace, too fast in and out. His chest heaving as his head kept whipping around. The only light source now was from Mosukuwa's wand, as he'd dropped his wand at some point. When had he done that? Harry gave a slight whimper, and he sank down to his knees, not caring about the cold, dirty water seeping into his pants.

Suka watched as the 5th year boy sank down to the ground, audibly sucking air into his lungs as if it would run out if he didn't take enough while he could. Cursing, she put more magic into her Lumos spell and pointed her wand up at the ceiling, where she shot the light up there, leaving it to float there. It shrouded the room in a brighter light. Suka hoped that the boy hadn't caused another cave-in. Why hadn't she thought of this? Of course, this place might bring up bad memories for him!

She got to her knees as well, shivering at the chilly water, and placed her hands on Potter's shoulders and, turning and pulling him to where his back rested against the wall. She frowned at how easily it was to manhandle him into position, even with her strength. She shook her head. She'd worry about that later; now was not the time.

"Potter? Potter! I need you to listen to me, okay? Hey!" She urged, reaching for his tie. His hands immediately tried swatting her away from his neck. Suka held back from snapping at him and grabbed both of his wrists into one hand, sitting her weight on his legs to keep him from kicking out at her. She finally managed to loosen his tie. Releasing his hands, she guided the trembling limbs up to his mouth and cupped them around it. Her hands sat over his in the same way, keeping them there.

"I need you to purse your lips for me and breathe in slowly. Can you do that for me?" She asked in the most patient tone she could manage. Is this how Hide had felt with her?

Potter's eyes were screwed shut, but she saw his attempts to do as she said, but ultimately failing as harsh breaths continued past his lips. With no other options from what Suka could know, she slapped her hand over his mouth completely.

Jade eyes flew open in a panic at his breath being restricted so suddenly, and Harry's chest tightened even more. Another wave of dizziness hit him, and with shaky fingers, he tried to pull Mosukuwa's hand away. Was she trying to kill him? Because this certainly wasn't helping!"

"Potter," Mosukuwa's voice came again. "Breathe through your nose. Slowly. In, and out. You're going to be fine."

Seconds ticked by, and Harry struggled to get a hold of himself again, breathing strictly through his nose because he had no other choice but to do so. Whenever he tried to look away or shut his eyes, Mosukuwa would snap his attention back to her face that was relatively close to his.

"Focus on me. Nothing else."

Harry stared at her, his eyes wandering over her facial features. She'd wiped away her lip makeup, but they were still stained a pale red/pink, as well as the corner of her mouth where it mixed with the dirt from before. Her brown eyes were as intense as ever before, yet...very kind, in a nurturing and understanding kind of way. Perhaps she's handled things like this before?

Mosukuwa continued to speak to him throughout, coaching him and even breathing deeply with him in a demonstration. Harry almost didn't notice the pain in his tight chest letting up, slowly the tingling of his limbs fading away, and his fogged mind began clearing.

Suka felt Potter mumble something against her palm.

"Are you better?" She asked, not moving her hand just yet. Potter looked to be contemplating the question before nodding.

Her eyes searched his face for any signs of lying; he did seem like downplaying things. Potter made an impatient noise and rolled his eyes at her, mumbling again. She released him, and Potter slumped back instantly, a breathy sigh erupting from his parted lips.

After a moment of silence, he said, "I'm sorry," rather sheepishly.

Suka gave him an "are you serious" look. "Why are you apologizing? Shit happens." She got off his legs and moved to his side, casting some drying spells on both their uniforms and the ground where they sat. "What happened? You were fine before."

"I don't know, I..." He trailed off, squinting up at the bright ball of light above them. "I think I just let the dark get to my head." He shook his head. "I'm fine, though."

He smiled at the older girl. "You handled that pretty well," he commented.

Suka shrugged. "I used to have panic attacks pretty often when I was younger. I just did what my father would."

With a lot fewer injuries, Suka thought with an internal snort. She'd broken Hide's leg and sprained his wrist on one occasion. At that point, they had to get one of the Anteiku ghouls to tend to her, with Hide nearby, of course. Just not in harming distance. It had made the time during the attacks worse as Suka hadn't warmed up to people well; strangers were definitely a no-go.

It even had set back her progress with her adopted father, in the sense of her being afraid to so much as sit next to him. She didn't want to hurt him in any way.

"You said he's a doctor, right?" Potter asked.

Suka nodded. "In a sense. He works for the Japanese government, on a special force team."

"Magical?"

"No, he's a muggle. He adopted me when I was young. I've never known my parents."

"Ah, so am I," he said. "An orphan, I mean. I know of them, I guess. Bits and pieces of my baby memories-- they were kind of faint, but it's something--, flashes of that night, and stuff that people have told me about them."

He kicked the ground. "Either I'm being praised, or ridiculed, for being so like them, mainly my dad, or I'm not enough like them...I think Sirius just sees me as a replacement for my dad."

Suka blinked. "What?"

Potter looked at her, then laughed a bit in understanding. "Sirius, not serious. He's my godfather."

Suka chuckled. Weird name, but okay. It wouldn't be the first time she'd encountered strange names, especially at Hogwarts. This Sirius guy must have been a close friend of James Potter who is still grieving, even after 14 years.

"Maybe you should try talking to him about it," Suka suggested softly. "He may not realize that he's even doing it, or he does, and he doesn't realize that it really bothers you."

Potter didn't respond, staring off at the far wall, and Suka left him to his thoughts for a bit. She wasn't going to push him; she doubted he'd appreciate that.

They were kind of similar, the two.

"We should probably head back up if we want to have enough time to clean up before classes. We can come back, but only if you want to."

"I thought we needed the chamber for training," Harry questioned as he watched Mosukuwa get to her feet. He did the same, wincing and swaying slightly on his still stiff legs.

"Not if it causes you distress," she stated firmly. "I'd want to explore some more, but I can do that myself if I need to. We can talk about it later, okay?"

Was it sad that Harry felt touched in a way? When was the last time someone put his feelings first and let him decided whether he wanted to do something or not? God, he really needed to re-evaluate how he allows himself to be treated by those around him...

"I'll think about it," he finally responded with a warm smile.

Mosukuwa paused and stared at him before returning the smile. "I have to get you to smile more," she stated nonchalantly. Then she turned and started back down the tunnel.

Harry sputtered and quickly grabbed his wand from across the floor and went to catch up. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

He was about to voice that question when something shiny caught his eye. He stopped, staring at the wall where his spell had hit, an enormous crater in the wall. He called out for Mosukuwa, who hadn't stopped walking, taking that floating ball of light with her.

"What is it?" She asked, backtracking her steps.

"Just keep the light still for a second," he told her, leaning closer to the wall. The blasted area only revealed more stone behind it. He tilted his head, looking at the crater at different angles. He frowned. Maybe his eyes were just playing tricks on him again. He turned away and--there it was again!

He got even closer, the tip of his nose almost hitting the cool rocks. There was a smaller hole in the crater, with something else behind it. Something shiny and a gold color? He leaned back.

"Do you see something in this hole?" He asked Mosukuwa. He wanted a second opinion. His rep sheet of staying in a stable reality right then was not looking good. He put his finger on the edge of the small hole in question, and Mosukuwa stepped closer, her shoulder brushing against his.

"...Yeah, there's something back there, definitely," she confirmed, nodding and taking a step back. "Try speaking in parseltongue. I don't wanna cause a cave-in by trying to blast through to it."

Harry snorted and stood in front of the crater as he hissed the word "open." And the rest of the stone began to rumble apart, revealing a green door that looked in good condition for where it was located. The shiny gold they had seen was the door's handle, in the shape of a snake, black texture patterns engraved into the metal and what looked like tiny ruby gems on the head for the eyes.

There was a clicking sound of the door being unlocked. Mosukuwa gave a sound of delight, grabbing onto Harry's forearm and kind of shaking it with excitement. Harry laughed, taking his wand into his unclaimed hand to cast another tempus charm. They had about an hour before class, at least he did.

But as he saw a pure curiosity and excitement shining in her eyes and clear on her face, Harry couldn't bring himself to suggest heading back up again. And he didn't want to leave her down here by herself, no matter what she said. There was no guarantee that she could get back out without his parseltongue abilities, and who knows what she'd come across down here.

"...I think we still have time to look inside for a bit," he said nonchalantly.

The bright smile he was given in response made his heart skip a beat, and she quickly started mumbling what sounded like incantations, point her wand at the door.

"Checking for hexes," she explained once she was done. "Salazar Slytherin seemed like the paranoid type."

She released his arm, leaving Harry missing the warmth, and opened the door. They stepped into a hallway. The floor was a black tile, old tapestries hanging on the walls between large pillars with torches on them. Harry lit the torches as they passed each one. There were only two other doors, both the same green as the main door.

Mosukuwa was casting spells left and right, and Harry went to the door on the left after she had deemed it safe. It didn't require any parseltongue to gain entrance, he learned, pushing the door open. He assumed everything inside this hidden shelter would be like that.

Beyond the door, he'd opened was a living room area. He stepped through the doorway, and Harry instantly felt an extreme tingling rush over his body, stilling him in place. It felt like he was being patted down and analyzed to the very core of his magical essence and soul. Then it was over, the feeling fading away as fast as it had come, and he was able to move again.

"Mosukuwa, be careful when coming in here," he called out to the girl in a warning. There was a brief shuffling back in the hall, and then Mosukuwa appeared in the doorway. She peered into the room hesitantly but didn't step inside.

"What?" She asked.

"I'm not sure. I think I just got checked over?" He said unsurely. "A security measure, maybe? It let me go through."

"It wouldn't be the most insane thing..." She said. She looked to be taking a deep breath before taking a hesitant step forward and inside the room. Harry watched anxiously as she entered and pause abruptly, much like he had. She was quiet at first, and the next thing he knew, she was collapsing to the ground, curling into a tight ball and letting forth a blood-chilling scream. He fell to his knees beside her and reached out a hand to grab onto her, only to snap it back as it felt like he'd placed his hand on a red hot stove. She was burning up!

Another yell was let out, then quickly silenced as Mosukuwa was clenching her teeth together. Her jawline was more defined by the tension ad she tried to hold back her screams. Harry tried calling her name, but the only response he received was pain whimpers that managed to slip past her lips.

He jumped to his feet and looked frantically around the room. A green-clothed sofa sat in front of a black marble fireplace. There was a dark wooden desk on a step-up incline, a wall-to-wall bookshelf behind it, filled with old and worn-looking books. Harry went to the desk first, rooting through the drawers and tossing its contents haphazardly onto the desk surface. Mostly a lot of old parchments, probably from centuries ago. But he couldn't bring himself to slow down and be gentle with them.

Not sure what he was looking for exactly; just anything that might help put a stop to whatever was attacking Mosukuwa. Whimpers were turning to choked sobs, causing Harry to speed up his efforts. The desk produced nothing of help, so he turned to the bookshelf behind him, grabbing the books and leafing through the pages. One by one, the books left the shelf and were dropped into an ever-growing pile on the floor, not caring if they were damaged. Though he was sure Mosukuwa, and maybe even Hermione, would have a few choice words for him if they saw him treating books so terribly. Especially ancient texts such as these. It wouldn't surprise him if some of these books were first editions!

He paused. Silence rang clear in the room, a great contrast to the ear-splitting screams he'd just witnessed. Harry spun around to Mosukuwa, who had fallen silent on the ground, her body lying limply still in that balled up position. Shit! Shit, shit, shit! Harry's mind kept flashing back and forth between the memory of Ginny laying in a similar state three years ago and the current present. Ginny, Mosukuwa, Ginny, Mosukuwa. Again and again, before finally switching back to the Asian 7th year and staying there in reality.

Please don't be dead, please don't be dead! Harry reached for her shoulder and was relieved to find that she had cooled down, though still a bit warmer than usual. He pushed her onto her back and leaned over her to press his ear to her chest.

One second. Two. Harry was beginning to fear the worst.

Merlin, how was he going to explain this? He'd no doubt be expelled this time. His heart clenched. Forget expelled! He'd have his wand snapped and be sent to Azkaban!

He bit his tongue and went to lift his head when the chest below him rose slowly then lowered. He flinched back to look at her, and sure enough, her chest continued to rise and fall with each breath. Her face wasn't contorted in pain anymore. It was blank, almost peaceful. She must have passed out from the shock. But at least she was breathing. Harry fell back onto the cool tile, exhaling deeply, and gave an almost hysterical laugh.

How did he always manage to get himself into situations like this? As he laid there, he contemplated what to do. He didn't have the energy to go attend classes, much less taking the trek back up. But he knew he had to, if not to just keep Hermione and Ron from panicking for not showing up like he said he would, then to get Mosukuwa some help. He couldn't carry her back up himself, even if he wanted to. It would draw way too much unwanted attention to going through the halls with an unconscious Slytherin student...

Lifting her wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. He made it to the sofa before his legs started to buckle, at least. He waved his wand at the couch to remove the probably centuries-old dust from it and laid Mosukuwa down. The fire roared to life instantly as he did this. Convenient.

He looked down at her. He hoped she'd be okay until he managed to return with Ron and Hermione.

"I'll be back soon, Suka."


End file.
